[A search for viruses in systemic lupus erythematosis. Somatic fusion amoung mammalian cells using concanavalin A].

Attempts were made to isolate a virus from systemic lupus erythematosus patients, using lymphocyte cultures prepared from peripheral blood. Both cocultivation with VERO cells and fusion experiments in which lysolecithin and Concanavalin A were employed as fusing agents failed to reveal any presence of virus. Con A proved to be useful for heterokaryon formation in primate cells, fusion levels varying from 14-21% as shown by autoradiography.